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The French Colonise Vietnam
On the 17th of October 1887, the French officially colonised the whole of Vietnam and it stayed that way for sixty years. The French justified their imperialism as a 'civilising mission' with the means to introduce modern politics, technology and techniques. However, the mission was to acquire land, provide cheap labour, export resources and make money. The French, however were not well liked by the Vietnamese people as they were forced to provide labour for Frech gain. -
Indochinese Communist Party Founded
In 1925, working as a representative of the Communist international in south China, Ho Chi Minh formed the revolutionary Indochinese communist party (ICP) and replaced the old Vietnamese Communist Party. The party aimed to overthrow French imperialism and Vietnamese feudalism and to make Indochina completely independent. Although shrouded in 'evil' the party also aimed to educate all the people of Vietnam and create equality between men and women. -
The First Indochina War
The first Indochinese war began on the 24th of December 1946 and was a conflict between the Vietnamese and the French who had held control over the people for over sixty years and is also known as the 'anti-french war.' The purpose of this war was to stop French reign over Vietnam and give the country and it's people freedom. -
The Cold War
The cold war was a period of tension both politically and militarily between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The cold war was a result of the separate ideologies of both groups being capitalism and communism respectively, however with both sides able to instantly annihilate the other due to the creation of the atomic bomb no real fighting took place. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Nearing the end of the first Indochinese war the battle of Dien Bien Phu took place. This battle was the most significant battle of the war and Vietnamese victory later led to the signing of the Geneva accords in 1954 meaning that Vietnam was free of French rule after 60 years. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis lasted for 13 days beginning on the 14th of October 1962 concerning the development of ballistic missiles in Cuba by the Soviets. This stand-off was the closest point during the cold war of which it could have become full scale atomic warfare. Thankfully nothing came of this event and no missiles were launched from either side from the beginning of the cold war up until the present. -
The Assassination of US President J.F Kennedy
Just after 12 o'clock on the 22nd of November 1963 J.F Kennedy the 35th president of the united states was assassinated whilst publicly appearing in an open top convertible. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a fervent believer in containing communism and it is speculated that his death was linked to the ongoing conflicts in Vietnam. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
In 1964 on August the 2nd during rounds on the Gulf of Tonkin the U.S Maddox exchanged shots with torpedo boats from the North Vietnamese navy. This singular event was the turning point of the peace between Communist Vietnam and the U.S. Current president at the time, President Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes and by the end of 1965 there were over 180,000 American troops on the ground and the Vietnam war had officially begun.
